Sep 29, 1998, 11:25am

Wowsa. I got a total of three responses from people out there saying they can't wait for me to continue my very own Holden Caufield-esque rendition of my mid teen years. Three! Hell, Jeanette didn't even respond! But 3 is good enough. Look for part two of the serial below. Part three (which is hopefully the final part) will be coming this weekend.

Before I get into that, there's some news. I finally finished the archive! Yeppers. The archive is done! It's been a long odyssey of sorts for me, so I figure I should talk just a tiny bit about it.

First, as you may be aware, a lot of the popular personal sites online keep their old stuff in an archive. Personally, I think they are popular in part because they archive their shit... you get to go back and see how foolish or brilliant they were at other times.

I had an archive before I did the complete redesign of this site back in February, but since the size of the archive was so large, I put off designing that component of it. After a few months I started working on it again, keeping it in line with the rest of this site. The idea was to have all the content generated dynamically depending on your requested page into a "dummy page" of sorts - one that was blank except for the graphics. I wanted to do this without the use of Active Server pages or CGI, but it proved difficult. My host has a language installed that's like ASP, but I didn't want to totally commit to that technology (SMX) just in case I moved hosts in the future. After all, I was dealing with over 200 html pages.

Then I tried to get the thing done somehow with DHTML and CSS. But problems abound there. Because Netscrape and Mickeysoft can't get their acts together over a DHTML and CSS standard, stuff that worked in one v.4 browser didn't work in the other v.4 browser. Because of this and the fact that non-DHTML browsers wouldn't even be able to view the stuff, I dumped that idea after about 3 months of off and on development.

Over that time period I was also thinking about the "look" for the archive. I didn't want it to just be a rehash of the typical archive I see out there, with text links galore. I wanted it to look a bit different from my main site. So I found this net program called NetCalendar that produced these calendars month to month, and used that as a model. For the navigation system I discovered a linking javascript thing designed by Marcelino Martins, and modified it to suit my means. The problem with going this route meant the hand coding of over 250 HTML pages. Easy enough technically, but a real bitch when it came to time and repetition boredom. But I got it done.

The archive still isn't the way I want it yet - I'm going to redesign the frontside interface to more match the look I'm going for with it. The idea is to make the archive look like a separate entity, all on it's own as if it was a separate site. That way I can transport it with me if I do another site redesign for Web Thing. But it was good enough to finally launch, so there ya go! And Jeff, Cindy, Adam, Jen and Craig, I hope you're happy! Your nagging got it done! :-)

And now for what all of you (or at least three of you) have been waiting for, Part two of my own personal Catcher in the Rye! If you missed the first part, it's here.

I guess Conners could see it was just goin' in and out of my ears, so he dismissed me. Ever notice how old people like to dismiss people? The story of my life. I get dismissed everywhere.

I was walking back to my locker when old Whiteman, my English Comp teacher saw me and pulled me aside to talk about some upcoming project. Whiteman was cool as far as teachers go - he was also my little league baseball coach. You see, I played first base for him, and we went to the city championships last summer. No fairy tale though - we lost.

So old Whiteman pulls me aside to find out about my term project. Whiteman always had some big kind of concern over my affairs, but at least he treated me okay, not like the way Conners, Peterson and Richards did. Those guys had definite superiority complexes when it came to us lowly students.

"How is the project going Mark? Have you decided on your topic yet?"

"I was thinkin' about Billy Bishop. In history we watched that film, ya know the one, 'The Kid Who Couldn't Miss' or somethin' like that, and I thought it was all pretty cool and stuff. I'd like to look more into it and see if there's a story there I can write."

"Hmm yah... hmmmm..." Whiteman says as he nods away. He's another nodder, just like Veep Peterson. "But Mark, isn't that more of a history project?"

"Well, yah, maybe, but I wanna write it from a first person perspective, as if I was Billy's Mechanic or something."

"Okay. Well, keep to it, okay? Don't forget this is worth half your term mark." He says as he starts walkin' away.

Whiteman. Always concerned about me. Last summer he was askin' me all sorts of questions about my school work and stuff while we were in our baseball season. But somehow he's a bit different. He didn't seem so pushy. Maybe it's just because he never really acted like he knew better than me, y'know? I kinda like that in the old folks.

I wrote the composition as a first person narrative, and I got good grades on it. In fact, I always got decent grades in English and History. Nothing spectacular, mind you but at least I cruised them.

Cruise them. I guess that could describe my entire eleventh grade experience. I cruised it at my own speed. I finished off that school year with a 65% average, including a 50% in Physics and Math. I was never to take those courses again, and it was none too soon for me, let me tell you.

One good thing happened towards the end of that year. I started goin' out with this chick named Elyned. Weird name, eh? It was welsh, and all her brothers and sisters shared the same kind of name. Her Mom was big on all things Welsh.

Len was one of those A+ students. Always did her homework, she did. Always studied hard for tests. And she always scored high on them. Parent pressure, I always thought when I first started dating her. During the summer I found out it was something different.

That summer I had a bit of a revelation, I suppose you could call it. Elyned never criticised me in the stuff I did with my life. She seemed pretty content with it overall, but she also showed me how and why she got such good grades. I was wrong about the parent thing, to a certain extent. She was overachieving in school partially because she had big plans in her life. And she showed me for the first time what big plans I should have. The time is still fresh.

We were sitting on a bench by the canal. We just came from a rather schlocky movie - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures. I was talking to her about the upcoming school year, and my plans with sports and stuff.

"Mark, is that what you think you'll do? Get really serious about the football and play it professionally?"

"I dunno". Geez, who wants to think about this stuff!

"The thing I always noticed about you was that you could get awfully damned creative when you want. Didja know you can make money doing that?"

It was true, I could be creative when I need to. I got awfully creative a few times when I had only hours to finish off an essay, and I always scored okay on them. "I suppose. But who's gonna pay me to be quick on my feet?"

Bingo. It hit me like a brick. The one ability, or talent I suppose you could call it, of mine that I knew of was my ability to be creative, in words or in art forms. I couldn't draw people or landscapes and stuff worth a lick, but I could draw. I loved to doodle, and I was kinda famous for my abstracty stuff. I liked drawing cartoons is what I'm tryin' to say.

I sat there realizin' what I just said - who's gonna pay me to be quick on my feet. Of course! Lotsa people are paid the big bucks for being quick on their feet! It struck me how stupid I can be sometimes.

Elyned just looked at me, and I guess she saw the lightbulb because a smile came over her face. At that moment I kinda figured I loved her. She was just so cute. She had this strawberry red hair thing happening, and she had freckles in all the right places. We were steady, I suppose ya call it, and at that moment, I was happy I found her.

Len had this way about her, y'see. She rarely got mad and stuff at me, even when I was bein' a complete jerk. The times I could count on how I was drunk at parties, an' she was always the sensible one there, not bein' condescending to me, but bein' patient. I loved that about her. I remember the one time at a party at this chick Lisa Law's house where I was makin' the fool and even hittin' on this other chick from Lisgar. Elyned an' I weren't even an item then - just a few dates here and there.

So anyway, here I am, three sheets to the wind, and I'm making time with this Lisgar chick. At one point I look over at the livin' room and there's Elyned, cryin'. Then she looked up at me and dead sighted me right in the eye. I could read everything - I was hurtin' her. Man, I tells ya, I never felt so low in my life before. This never happened to me before. Most of the girls I dated or fooled around with weren't the commitin' type, or at least I wasn't before that night.

I made it up to the old girl though, and I sure was happy to have her sittn' with me on that warm night watchin' the phonies in their rented sailboats go up and down the canal. It was a real moment in my life, I'm tellin' ya. That simple moment of awaking, if you want to give it some fancy title, did change my life.

"Mark, if you want to make this work for you, you'll have to go to university, y'know."

University. I always wondered if I would go to University. I figured, when I was a kid a million years ago, I'd be one of those guys who got a football scholarship or somethin' and not have to worry about paying for school or even studying. They always let the jocks do what they want, right?

And University was cool. I figured it would be just like Animal House, that cool movie with that dead guy. Party all the time, piss off the Dean, and get the babes. I knew there was probably some kinda work in between, but I'd been to a few Uni parties by now, and they were always cool and always fun. So much fun that by the time I finished with the cocktails and the beer, I was incoherent.

But I started to think I'd need to do something to get into a school. After all, it was only a couple of years away. I'd have to study of course. I'd have to figure out what I was gonna take. I was sittin' there thinking all of this for quite a while. I was also kinda excited.

"Do ya think we'll go to the same University Len? What's it like? Do ya think its full of parties and stuff? Do they really not get mad atcha if you don't do your homework? Is it true they don't care if ya ditch classes or not?" Boy, I sure can get excited when I get an idea I like.

"Slow down, willya? Yah, we might go to the same school, I dunno, but I'd like that." She could tell I was excited, but I think it was catching because she had this goofy grin on.

"As for the parties, I dunno. We went to that one a month ago, but that was their end of exam thing, so of course they're gonna party."

"Exams. I guess that's tough. There was that guy last year who killed himself. Remember him?" I was thinkin' about that now. I was thinkin' why would anyone kill themselves over a few marks in school. It seemed really crazy to me for a guy to go an' kill himself over a bad grade.

"Some people take this stuff seriously Mark. I guess he was under pressure and figured his life was wasted if he didn't do good. But yeah, those exams can be pretty tough I hear. A lot of stress, and that party we went to was a release of it, I suppose." Man, this girl is smart. I always thought so. Not just book smart either. She really knew the score on a lot of things. She could figure out a lot of things using common sense, which was very cool. I didn't know too many girls who could do that.

I was so excited about this University thing. "So okay, the exams are tough, but you get to set your life, dontcha? You get to figure out what stuff you wanna take, and go for it. No required crap, no teachers tellin' ya you need to do this and that?" I was kinda bouncing in my seat over the prospect, I'm tellin' ya. All of a sudden I figured I was a University man. I was cut out for that kinda life. Then Len burst my bubble a bit.

"Not exactly. You have to figure out what you wanna take and then plan out your course over that goal. You have to figure out your major, y'see, then there's required things you need to take to get that degree." Elyned was sure smart, but the thought of school rules again kinda brought me down. And I suppose she could tell, 'cause she noticed my giddyness slow down a ways.

"Hey, it's still exciting. You just have to map out things if you wanna do it Mark. Remember, you're fast on your feet, and you're a good planner."

I suppose I was.

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Mixelania

Photos from Algonquin Park
Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers.

War Stories

Making Snow for the Fortress
One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out.

Webiffied

Tools I Use
The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.

iPod and iTunes Offline

iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow.

Most Recent Songs

Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip

Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido

With arms open wide by Creed

truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band

In the News

Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.

St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines

AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided

NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders

Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!

The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara

Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.

NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.

USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.

WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.

Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.

My Other Stuff

CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.

CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.

WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!

Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!

Daily Visits

enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.

DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.

Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!

Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.

MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.

Friends and Family Plan

Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.

Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly

Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr

Recent Acquisitions

Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.

Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.

Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography

Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.

Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D